5/20/2022

Overview of Report

This is a brief descriptive report highlighting some finds from a quick analysis of a Kaggle Dataset on Chinese Debt in 50 countries from Africa. There were 1188 observations in the dataset with 7 variables named: “S.no”,“Project”,“Year”, “Lender”,“$ Allocation”,“Country” and “Invested On”.

The major variable of interest was the Allocation (Debt) amount in dollars.


Contents of the Report:

  • Biggest Lenders(allocation-wise)
  • Frequent Borrowers
  • How the 50 African countries fared in terms of borrowing
  • Most Invested Sectors
  • Each Country’s Biggest Loan
  • Lending trend over the years
  • Top 5 borrowers vs. Bottom 5 borrowers
  • Spending Behavior of the Top 3 Borrowers
  • Zooming in on West Africa
  • Sneak Peek on Ghana



Biggest Lenders

Table 1: Top 10 Lenders to Africa and Total Loan Amount
Chinese Lender Loan Amount
CHEXIM $87.0B
CDB $38.8B
ICBC $9.9B
MixedCN: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), Bank of China (BoC), China Construction Bank (CCB), China Minsheng Bank, Ping An Bank Co., Ltd., Bank of China (BoC) $3.7B
Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE) $2.6B
MixedCN: CHEXIM, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Minsheng Bank, China CITIC Bank, Construction Bank, Kuwait National Bank, and HSBC $2.5B
CIDCA $2.2B
BoC $2.0B
MixedCN: Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) $1.5B
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) $1.4B


Top 10 Frequent Borrowers

Table 2: Africa’s Fequent Borrowers
Rank Country Frequency of Loan Entries
1 Angola 254
2 Zambia 78
3 Sudan 66
4 Democratic Republic of Congo 59
5 Ghana 53
6 Ethiopia 52
7 Cameroon 45
8 Kenya 43
9 Republic of Congo 36
10 Mauritius 31


The African Countries and Their Total Loan Amounts

Table 3: African Countries and the Total Amount Borrowed
Rank Country Loan Amount
1 Angola $42.6B
2 Ethiopia $13.7B
3 Zambia $10.0B
4 Kenya $9.3B
5 Egypt $7.8B
6 Nigeria $7.3B
7 Cameroon $6.2B
8 South Africa $5.4B
9 Republic of Congo $5.4B
10 Ghana $5.3B
11 Sudan $4.8B
12 Cote d’Ivoire $3.6B
13 Uganda $3.6B
14 Zimbabwe $3.0B
15 Equatorial Guinea $3.0B
16 Guinea $2.7B
17 Regional $2.4B
18 Mozambique $2.4B
19 Democratic Republic of Congo $2.3B
20 Tanzania $2.1B
21 Senegal $2.0B
22 Gabon $1.7B
23 Djibouti $1.5B
24 Morocco $1.2B
25 Botswana $951.0M
26 Chad $770.0M
27 Sierra Leone $752.0M
28 Mali $731.0M
29 Niger $699.0M
30 Togo $687.0M
31 Mauritania $657.0M
32 Eritrea $631.0M
33 Rwanda $629.0M
34 Mauritius $626.0M
35 Benin $536.0M
36 Namibia $500.0M
37 Madagascar $468.0M
38 South Sudan $407.0M
39 Malawi $264.0M
40 Lesotho $193.0M
41 Central African Republic $164.0M
42 Burkina Faso $157.0M
43 Tunisia $131.0M
44 Burundi $128.0M
45 Comoros $122.0M
46 Liberia $55.0M
47 Cape Verde $49.0M
48 Seychelles $35.0M
49 The Gambia $25.0M
50 Algeria $9.0M


Most Invested Sectors

Table 4: Sectors and The Amounts Invested
Rank Sector Loan Amount
1 Transportation $46.8B
2 Power $40.5B
3 Mining $18.0B
4 ICT $13.5B
5 Water $7.4B
6 Other social $5.6B
7 Multisector $3.8B
8 Industry $3.6B
9 Defense $3.5B
10 Government $3.4B
11 Banking $2.5B
12 Unallocated $2.5B
13 Agriculture $2.2B
14 Budget $2.1B
15 Education $1.7B
16 Business $1.5B
17 Health $1.0B
18 Trade $139.0M
19 Other commodity $100.0M
20 Food $46.0M
21 Environment $38.0M


Each Country’s Biggest Loan

Table 5: Details on the Biggest Loan Per Country
Project Year Lender $ Allocation Country Invested On
Economic and Technical Agreement 2002-06-17 CIDCA $6M Algeria Unallocated
Sonangol Recapitalization 2016-06-17 CDB $10.0B Angola Mining
Akassato-Bohicon Road Lot 3, 72.1km 2013-06-17 CHEXIM $132M Benin Transportation
Morupule B Coal-Fired Power Station Expansion Project 600MW 2009-06-17 ICBC $825M Botswana Power
SMART Burkina Project 2020-06-17 CHEXIM $80M Burkina Faso ICT
Digital Broadcasting Upgrade 2017-06-17 CHEXIM $33M Burundi ICT
Yaounde Potable Water Supply from Sanaga River (PAEPYS) 2015-06-17 CHEXIM $678M Cameroon Water
E-government Phase I - National Data Center 2010-06-17 CHEXIM $17M Cape Verde ICT
Mobile and Fixed Network 2005-06-17 Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE) $60M Central African Republic ICT
N’Djarmaya Oil Refinery 2011-06-17 CHEXIM $330M Chad Industry
Network Modernization Project 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $82M Comoros ICT
Abidjan Port Expansion 2014-06-17 CHEXIM $793M Cote d’Ivoire Transportation
Zongo II Hydropower Station 150MW 2011-06-17 CHEXIM $367M Democratic Republic of Congo Power
Addis-Djibouti Railway (Djibouti share), 100km, Ali Sabieh to Nagad 2013-06-17 CHEXIM $492M Djibouti Transportation
New Cairo City Central Business District 2019-06-17 MixedCN: CHEXIM, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Minsheng Bank, China CITIC Bank, Construction Bank, Kuwait National Bank, and HSBC $2.5B Egypt Government
Malabo, Bata, and Ruba- 4,800 Units of Social Housing 2007-06-17 CHEXIM $380M Equatorial Guinea Other social
Agro-processing Projects - 3 Food Cold Storage Warehouses in 3 Cities, 1 Canning Factory, Drip-irrigation PVC Pipe Production Factory 2012-06-17 CHEXIM $101M Eritrea Industry
Millenium Plan Telecom Project Phase I, II, III 2006-06-17 Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE) $1.9B Ethiopia ICT
Port Gentil-Omboue Road and Booue Bridge, 93km, CommL Portion 2013-06-17 CHEXIM $493M Gabon Transportation
Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Project, Jubilee Oil Field 2012-06-17 CDB $850M Ghana Power
Souapiti Hydropower Project 450MW 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $1.2B Guinea Power
SGR Phase I - Mombasa to Nairobi 472.3km (CommL portion, total 3.6bn) 2014-06-17 CHEXIM $2.0B Kenya Transportation
Ha-Mpiti to SehlabaThebe Road 92km 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $98M Lesotho Transportation
Roberts International Airport Rehabilitation 2017-06-17 CHEXIM $50M Liberia Transportation
Rehabilitation of National Road RN5A Ambilobe-Vohemar, 150km 2019-06-17 CHEXIM $157M Madagascar Transportation
Bingu International Conference Center, The Presidential Hotel and Presidential Villas 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $92M Malawi Other social
Mali Digital 2020 (Mali Numerique 2020) 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $164M Mali ICT
Nouakchott Friendship Port Expansion 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $293M Mauritania Transportation
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) Upgrade - Passenger Terminal 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $260M Mauritius Transportation
Equipment purchase 2008-06-17 CHEXIM $515M Morocco Unallocated
Maputo-Catembe Bridge, Katembe Bridge/Ponta D’Ouro Road, 3km 2012-06-17 CHEXIM $682M Mozambique Transportation
Purchase of 10% Stake in Husab Uranium Mine 2012-06-17 Swakop Uranium (SU) $223M Namibia Mining
SORAZ Oil Refinery Near Zinder 2008-06-17 CHEXIM $352M Niger Industry
Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernisation Project II 2017-06-17 CHEXIM $1.3B Nigeria Transportation
Afreximbank: Medium to Long Term Financing for Sub- Projects in Various Sector 2018-06-17 CDB $500M Regional Banking
National Route 1, Pointe-Noire-Brazzaville Road, Phase II (Dolisie-Brazzaville, 376km) 2012-06-17 CHEXIM $1.2B Republic of Congo Transportation
Nyabarongo River Dam II, 224MW; 110kV Evacuation Transmission Line 2020-06-17 CHEXIM $214M Rwanda Power
Thies-Touba Toll Highway, 113km 2015-06-17 CHEXIM $689M Senegal Transportation
Les Mamelles Housing Project Phase I - 203 Units 2007-06-17 CHEXIM $14M Seychelles Other social
Queen Elizabeth II Quay Update 2017-06-17 ICBC $659M Sierra Leone Transportation
Medupi Coal Power Plant expansion (6X794=4800MW) 2017-06-17 CDB $1.5B South Africa Power
Air Traffic Management System 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $249M South Sudan Transportation
Al Fulah Gas-Power Plant 300 MW 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $612M Sudan Power
Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Natural Gas Processing Plants and Pipeline, PEBC part (Mnazi Bay to Dar es Salaam - Mtwara Province Gas Pipeline, 432km) 2012-06-17 CHEXIM $920M Tanzania Power
Gambia National Broadband Network Project 2018-06-17 CHEXIM $25M The Gambia ICT
Phase I Togolese Road Network Renovation - Lome bypass, Aledjo Fault bypass, Montagne de Defale bypass, Asphalting of N1 between Tandjouare and Cinkasse (Togo-Burkina border), 12.1km 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $99M Togo Transportation
Purchase of 20 trains 2009-06-17 CHEXIM $80M Tunisia Transportation
PEBC part- Karuma Hydropower Project 600MW; 400kV Karuma-Kawanda & 400kV Karuma-Olwiyo & 80km Karuma-Lira Transmission Lines, 132kV; 6 Substations 400kV 2015-06-17 CHEXIM $789M Uganda Power
Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Project, 750MW 2017-06-17 MixedCN: Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) $1.5B Zambia Power
Hwange Coal Power Station Expansion 600MW Phase III - Units 7&8 2016-06-17 CHEXIM $998M Zimbabwe Power


Lending trend over the years


Top 5 vs Bottom 5 Borrowers

Top 5 Borrowers

The following two charts compares the borrowing patterns of the highest and lowest borrowers in Africa.The colored ribbon shows the 95% confidence interval and the colored line represents the linear regression model.


Bottom 5 Borrowers

Aside the noticeable difference in the amounts usually borrowed, there is a stark contrast in the frequency of borrowing. *(NB: Some outliers were taken out so the highest value on the y-axis does not indicate the highest amount borrowed.)

Most Invested vs Least Invested Sector (by the top 3 borrowers)

As shown below, Africa’s top 3 borrowers spent the most on Mining and the least on the Environment. Quite ironic!


Spotlight on West Africa

Here’s an overview of how the 16 countries in West Africa fared: The first graph gives a sense of the usual borrowed amounts per country, and the 2nd shows the total amount borrowed over the period per country.


Ghana’s Tale

At the tail of this report, we take a quick peek at Ghana. We look at Ghana’s investment patterns and see the sad story of its most invested area.


Aluta Continua


THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!